Beating cancer with a paddle

Graphics

Suzanne Yeo screamed as loud as her voice would let her. “I love this!” she said, connecting her paddle to water, gliding on the smooth surface while staying balanced on her stand-up paddleboard. “It's been six months!”

Yeo learned in January she had breast cancer. Just six weeks ago, she had a double mastectomy and recently finished her chemo treatment. In her former life, as she calls it, she was a fitness instructor the past 30 years and taught activities such as stand-up paddle and yoga.

“The chemo kicked my butt down to zero fitness, to where I couldn't do anything,” she said. “It was a rude awakening.”

But on Sunday, the Huntington Beach woman was finding her groove again at a “We Are Ocean” event, a new nonprofit started by paddler and cancer survivor Jack Shimko. Those in the paddle community know Shimko's name well, after he paddled all the Channel Islands a few years ago, still training while his body was weakened by the chemo treatments.

The Newport Beach paddler started We Are Ocean because he knows how much being on the water kept him grounded, and gave him hope.

“This would be the absolute polar opposite of cancer treatment,” he said, looking out at the dozen or so cancer survivors out on the water. “You're stuck inside a hospital, everything is sterile, you're filled with drugs. This is the absolute opposite, you're floating free on or in the water.”

The day was filled with fun, starting with Ritual Wellness donating healthy drinks, then a yoga session put on by Villa Pilates and Yoga, followed by paddling with boards provided by Pirate Coast Paddle Co. Later they hopped in outrigger canoes, courtesy of Newport Aquatics Center.

“I just think it's a really good healing process to be doing stuff like this,” Shimko said.

They hope to expand to 24 dates next year, and are connecting with corporate sponsors and planning fundraisers to offset costs.

“Treatment is kind of like a time out. I feel like every person I talk to; they say ‘I just want to live life.' That's it,” he said. “If this little event can help them in that small way, then I think we're providing a good resource.”

Information:
Weareocean.org.

PADDLE FOR HER BATTLE

The day started out with perfect conditions – glassy water off Catalina Island.

Greg Beckler and James Pribram said a prayer for protection on the journey, then they hit the water as the sun was rising, ready for their 38-mile adventure to Dana Point on Saturday.

You might recall a story I wrote last week about the duo, who planned on doing the relay paddle to raise money for the mounting costs from Beckler's 4-year-old daughter Raelyn's cancer treatments.

All was going well until mile 13, when the wind started to kick up and Beckler was swept into the water.

“I think I just got tired,” he said. “Once I fell in, the wind was kicking on me, and my muscles started to get really tight and I started getting cramps.”

Pribram then jumped in the water and made some good progress, and the two switched out every hour. During the paddle, they looked down at the names of about 60 people who have battled with cancer to give them strength. At the top of that list was Raelyn's name.

They were about half way in when the conditions got really rough. Strong wind and swell made it impossible to make progress, the board flying all over the place. Pribram even tried to prone paddle, sitting on his knees and using his arms to move forward.

“It got so bad. We fought the swells for so long,” Beckler said.

They started switching off every 3-5 miles, and finally – four miles out from their goal – Beckler called it off.

“I said ‘I finished, you finished, we finished this. We're winners,' ” he recalled later that night, his eyes still bloodshot. “Let's not kill ourselves.”

In many ways, their paddle is much like the fight Beckler is enduring with his daughter's cancer. “It's a battle,” he said. “You have to make changes and adjust.”

His wife Rebecca was proud of what he accomplished.

“When I think of what he did for Raelyn, it brings tears to my eyes. She knows that dad is doing a fundraiser for her,” she said. “It brings a little bit of excitement, we've had a rough year and a half, it's been tough. This has been great, it's given us a little light.”

Beckler is grateful to all who supported him.

“I want to thank everybody who helped me make this journey possible,” he said. “I'm humbled and I'm thankful, and I'll never be able to say thank you enough to all of them.”

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.